I've never had any inclination to buy boots for 2x, 3x, 4x as much $ as W1K's that use the same leather (CXL). They're all resoleable, US made (or at least with ethical labor/Canada for Viberg), and while quality/construction improves with $, functionally it's almost irrelevant in the semi-short term. There's no indication my W1K's are going to fall apart anytime soon for my purposes, so buying superior quality White's is about the same as buying a watch with a movement...

Nice! Thanks for sharing. There are so few examples of worn Austens floating around. I've always wanted a pair, but need another pair of shoes/boots like I need a hole in the head, or so my gf would say. Yours look awesome.

Ultimately, customer satisfaction is what's important, and if someone feels the creasing is excessive, and they'll never be comfortable with their purchase, then returning them for a refund is just smart business practice. Crane's offered a refund, so they should just be returned.
That said, there's all different degrees of Chromexcel creasing on display from various shoe makers.
The most glaring example I could find in a quick search is these:
Natty CXL...

Thanks! Ya buddy - Krause's when they were on sale for $150 or whatever it was at that one AE outlet for seconds. Mine came in with that nice gash on the toe. My buddy's were flawless. I ended up selling them, along with every other boot in the pics except the W1K classics.